


Out In A Storm

by RedHouden (Corveille)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Spirits, Animal Death, Blood and Injury, Gen, Ghost Marco Bott, Ghosts, Horses, Jean Kirstein and Eren Yeager Fight, Just Jean Getting the Scare of his Life, Near Death Experiences, POV Jean Kirstein, Past Character Death, Probably making it sound worst than it actually is, Small Towns, but are good friends in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 06:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17913659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corveille/pseuds/RedHouden
Summary: A skeptic Jean encounters a ghost in one of his travels... doesn't realize until later that night.





	Out In A Storm

 

-

It all started with a party.

Eren was celebrating finally being able to move out and start his own farm, away from this town and I –being rather close to the man in question– had been invited to have a few drinks in a lonely but cozy bar with a group of friends.

But of course the place just had to be located in the land of Lord-knows-where right on the other side of the God damn world. It’d take me at least an hour to get there using the safe roads, not counting the time wasted looking for a carriage.

Anyway, somewhere along the lines my mind had come up with the great idea of taking a quick nap before heading out. The party wouldn’t start until later that night and I wanted to be well rested for the rounds of beers I’d make sure to have once in there. At the time it had looked like a good plan.

But fate had never been kind to me in any shape or form and out of all the days my body could’ve possibly chosen to sleep in, it decided to pick this particular one.

By the time I regained full consciousness, the sun had already set behind the mountains and a nasty storm was building his way into the sky.

I looked out from the window of my bedroom only to find dark clouds hovering above my house, flashes of light warning me that if I dared take one step out of my safe haven lightning could, and mostly would, strike me. Cursing everything on my way downstairs I grabbed my coat and went out anyway, rash weather wouldn’t stop me.

There was no way in hell I could make it to the bar in time, not unless I took the anguine pass through the mountains but nobody in their right mind would take me and it’s not like I could really blame them for it. The thing was designed like a death trap with its sharp turns and a slippery surface but really, it was not like hundreds of people had died in it.

As far as I knew only one lethal accident had taken place in that dreaded road years ago but it had been enough to scare everyone from using it regularly, maybe there had been more and I’ve just not hear about them. I’ve only move recently after all. Not that the number of casualties would make that big of a difference, with little visibility and a storm coming up, trying to get someone to go through it would be like trying to grab air with your bare hands.

Kicking a pebble out of the way I racked my brain, looking for a solution. Maybe a carriage wouldn’t take me but a merchant _could_ take upon the offer, if I was willing to pay the price that is.

I know what you think, it might seem ridiculous to go to those extents for a stupid party but…let’s just say everyone had their own ambitions and mine, coincidentally, involved that specific occasion. Besides, Eren was known for having quite the temper and fight moves on top of a rash attitude. I'd rather not be on the end of those three demons If it could be avoided.

I waited on the side of an old road I knew was heavily frequented even at this hour. It was rather cold outside and my fingers were starting to turn red and a little numb. Just as I was hiding my hands in the pockets of my long coat, a cart came into view.

Because of the fog that had formed during my waiting game, trying to see who the rider was turned into a real challenge. I did find it weird though.

Supposedly the nights should have been clear of any mist all throughout the season but nature, as I’d come to learn the hard way, could be unpredictable when you least expected. So like any other person, I ignore it.

 What I saw first was a beautiful black and white Clydesdale horse with his mane tied into fancy braids. From what little I could see the horse look healthy, barely reaching adulthood. Back in the day my father used to work with horses so having good knowledge of them was a particular hobby of mine I wasn’t really proud of, but I at least didn’t try to hide it.

Whoever this person was, he must have come from a well-heeled family to be able to purchase such a beauty.

As they got closer, I was able to define more features.

The young man himself wore an old maroon coat much like mine with a white button-up shirt and a vest on top of it, simple black pants and an ivy hat that hid his hair. He had his head hung low but I could see tension in his shoulders, poor bastard probably wasn’t having a good night and it was about to get worse.

I planted myself in the middle of the road, hands raised in the air but not waving, since I didn’t want to scare such a huge animal with sudden movements. Thankfully the man saw me and pulled at the reins to stop the cart, causing me to let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s there anything I can help you?” His voice sounded harsh and unsure, as if he hadn’t used it in a while.

“Yeah you– Look, I know this might sound crazy and all but I need to get to certain place and the only way to do that is through the anguine pass. I have money I promise, I’ll even pay you half now and the other half later. Sounds good?” I said quickly trying not to sound too desperate. The guy raised an eyebrow at me, looking confuse more than anything.

“Where are you heading to, exactly?”

“To a party in one of the bars off town. The Black bat tavern you know where that is?”

“I sure do sir, but there are safer routes that could lead you to it without that many risks.”

“I’m kind of short on time see, I should have been there by sunset. Come on I’ll pay you extra for the trouble.”

“I’m heading in the same direction actually. I could drop you off with no problem” that, I couldn’t lie, took me by surprise. I felt a sudden need to ask why he would try to go down that path alone on a night like this but he was already beckoning me to join in with him on the seat and I wasn’t about to make him change his mind about the deal.

“Well hop on then.”

I gladly took a sit next to the man, explaining how I’d make it up to him once we got to the bar. He simply dismissed my words with a smile and snapped at the reins to get us back on track. From this close the man, I noticed, had a darker skin tone that I’ve originally thought filled with freckles and equally dark eyes. A foreign then I thought, probably trying to make some money on his way through.

Within fifteen minutes we were on the edge of the infamous passage. The well-known broken stone arch greeted us there. A picture of a snake coiled around an apple was carved in it. You could guess where the road’s name had originally come from by this point.

The man stopped the cart for a moment to admire the old architecture with a sort of forlorn look in his eyes and I found it a little strange. Sure, the arch could’ve seen better days but there were more appropriate times to daydream about it. As If he had read my thoughts, right away he clicked his tongue and the horse moved once again.

 Even though it was only supposed to be a short ride, the silence was making me feel uncomfortable. It was awkward enough with us being total strangers to one another but it was no excuse for trying to do the best interpretation of a rock like this fucker here. So, with nothing better to do with my time, I asked the question that had been burning inside my brain since I’ve met this guy.

“So you. . . use this pass a lot?” He nodded his head, showing a polite smile.

“It’s not as dangerous as people make it out to be if you know your way around it.”

“And I’m guessing you do yeah?” The man let out a chuckle before giving me the affirmative.

“Sure do!”

“Good for me then... so since you pretty much know where I am heading to, would you mind telling where you’re going?”

“To the next town over, I’m supposed to be there by morning to sell out some clothes” while saying that, he reached for the old leather rag behind him and lifted it up to reveal all different types of clothing. Some of them had, in fact, pretty decent dressmaking.

“I’ll save you the trip and buy some of them. Don’t think I’ll look good in a dress though.”

“Hmm not sure ‘bout that. I think you’ll fit that attire quite nicely.”

“Am I supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult?”

He did not say.

A more comfortable silence returned between us after that but the night wasn’t completely soundless. Thunders were going off in the distance and I was sure the rain would follow in any moment.

The cart took a sharp turn, causing some of the ground at the edge to give away under its weight, scaring the horse in the process. It only took the man a simple, but firm tug of the reins to calm him down with ease.

“Sorry, Phillips always grows nervous when we take this pass.” Now out of all the names...

“Phillips? Your horse’s named Phillips, and he has braids in his hair? With pink bows?!”

“I’ll only say that my sister knows no limits” I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. Slapping one of my knees to shake the giggles out of me I addressed the man again.

“Let the poor animal keep some dignity. Take them off.”

“He doesn’t seem to mind them, eh bud?” he stretched his hand to pet him and the animal gave a happy neigh, relaxing under the familiar touch.

“You are weak” I scoffed in disdain.

“Maybe I am but what about you? Why are you so set on going to the party?” I knew he’d ask the question eventually. I considered lying to him and change the subject but then again, did it really matter what I said? I probably wouldn’t see him after this trip anyway, might as well talk.

“Believe me, if you knew the man you’ll do anything in your power not to provoke his wrath and besides...” here was the convoluted part,” I might get a new house if I play my cards right.”

“Please explain.”

“So an old friend of mine is moving to a new place and he’s leaving his old house at the edge of the village to one of us and I fucking _want_ it okay? It’s bigger than my own home _and_ most importantly it is far, far away from people. If I don’t show up, I’m letting the competition win.”

“Not very social are you?”

“I hate living in the center of the town. All the noise and people drive me crazy so yes, go ahead and mock me for being a reclusive failure” he let out a snicker and turned his eyes off the road for the first time since we had started this journey.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think you are” but he couldn’t fool me, he was dying to make fun of me and I fucking knew it.

My glaring at the back of his head got interrupted by the first droplets of water, as the raging clouds from above resolved it was time to release the waterfalls. I cursed loudly at how the raindrops drenched my two-toned hair and coat, producing shivers throughout my body. Something got trusted into my field of vision, a maroon coat.

The man simply responded with a smirk at my dumbfounded expression.

“Take it. I’m not the one who needs to look presentable for a big occasion.”

When I closed my hand around the rough fabric my fingers brush his for only a second. That was all it took to make me recoil back in shock. I was well aware it was a cold night and the rain surely wasn’t helping raising the temperature but this man, he downright felt like a cub of ice he was so cold.

That should have been my first warning that something was wrong.

“Holy hell you’re freezing.”

“Am I? I don’t really feel it. Must be bad circulation.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re about to have frost all over you, take the coat back”

“No it’s okay. The cold never really bother me” how someone could care so much about others but so little about his health, I wondered.

“You are going to catch your dead out here, Christ” he laughed out loud at my remark, the freak.

“Unlikely.”

Going against my wishes, the weather did not get better as we edged closer to the end of the rocky path. This part seemed to be straighter than the rest, though that was just my speculation. It was almost impossible to see because of the rain and a fog had appeared again, right out of nowhere. I could barely distinguish Phillips’ mane in front of me. However, I could clearly hear his huffs of breath as the speed of his strides increased.

Not even the second coat was helping me keep dry at this point and for some reason, to me, it felt as if the terrain was getting more irregular, maybe the cart was shaking too much.

“Hey, not to tell you how to do your job but…don’t you think we should slow down?”

 He didn’t respond and I didn’t open my mouth again, thinking it was better to not distract him from keeping track of the road.

I really wanted to ask how he could see so far ahead of him.

 Apart of the blessing light provided by random lighting, there was little else you could use to guide yourself in this dimness. Memorizing the path seemed like the most logical conclusion.

As I turned to ask him how long it’d take to get to the end, my body completely froze.

At first glance, it didn’t look like there was anything wrong with him. Had I been a little sleepier, I’m sure I would not have spot it. It was hard as all hell to see in this moon-less night to start with so I thought I was imagining the whole thing for a second, but no.

The man’s eyes were set on the path alright but there was something wrong with them. They seemed dazed, unfocused and not all there as if he’d fallen asleep but had forgotten to close them. He was also looking very pale all of the sudden which was definitely _not_ a good thing given the situation we were in.

My first thought was _‘I knew it, the dumbass just went and got sick’._

Before I could shout at him to pay attention to the damn road, Phillips gave a glass-shattering neigh and, for a second, I thought he’d hurt himself by tripping over a rock or something alike but he didn’t slow down at all.

Worst of all, the rider didn’t even _flinch_ at the sound.

 The horse kept on going, still screaming as if he was being chase by starved wolves. It was such a horrible sound of pain and terror; it broke my heart. There was a sound above us, I couldn’t see but it was loud and echoing, like rocks hitting more rock as they tumbled downhill. I screamed, so scared that one of those was going to crush us in any moment but they never came into view, the sound was there but…there was nothing.

The man snapped the reins more urgently but did no more than that, hypnotized by whatever invisible force was urging them on.

“H-hey…”

The fog was getting so thick I couldn’t see Phillips or the road ahead anymore, only the person sitting next to me and he wasn’t slowing down. The rocks still weren’t coming.

Oh Gods, we were in so much danger right now.

At the current speed we’d reached, just one wrong move would be enough to make us fall down to our deaths.

“Fucking _hey_!”

He wasn’t listening.

 Both the horse and his owner seemed to be deviating themselves away from the rock walls, towards the void next to us. The river below was running like crazy. Even if we could survive the fall, which was highly unlikely, we surely would be able to fight those currents.

A flash of light, my vision cleared for a second, I don’t really know how but I still thanks the Gods for it, because I saw we were heading to a sharp turn it’d be impossible to make like this, we were going to die.

Without a second thought I lunged for the reins and shook him toward me with all the force I could muster. Muscles stiff from the rain and the panic coursing through my veins.

The cart shifted away from our doom and bumped into the unyielding stone. The man—finally snapping out of his daze—tug at the reins with so much force that it made the horse stand on his hind legs before halting his trotting entirely. Inches away from the edge. Still gripping the man’s biceps tightly, I allowed my body to shut down for a minute, now that we were all somewhat safe.

Shivers ran all over me and I could barely hear a sound other than my own breathing. What the hell had been all that about? The rain was still coming down but the mist was no longer around us, it was gone just…gone like the rocks falling.

Hallucinations? I though. Questions started to piled up in my head, was I about to have a mental breakdown? What the fuck had just happened? Just…just what, “the hell is your PROBLEM?! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US ALL!”

I swear if my body hadn’t been so unresponsive back then, I’d have decked him in the face. Though this man, at the very _least_ , had the decency to look ashamed and guilty, give him a medal people. 

He tried and failed to come up it an explanation.

“I–I don’t –”

“Shut _up_! Were you even paying attention to what you’re doing? If I hadn’t pull at the reins we’ll both be at the bottom of the fucking river right now! If you want to learn how to fly then by all means go ahead, but don’t try to drag me or Phillips down with you.”

“No you don’t understand, I didn’t mean –”

“Didn’t mean to drive us off a fucking _CLIFF_?!”

I let go of his, surely bruised, arm and turned my head away from him. All I could think to myself was that this guy had escaped from a metal hospital or something, since no sane person would have ever zoned out the way he did. I was so tempted to just jump off and walk the rest of the way to the bar but my stupid legs were shaking and my feet wouldn’t move at will, not even an inch. The man wasn’t doing so well either, trembling in his boots with damp clothes clinging to his form like a life line.

 I was so done with all this.

“God just, just take me to the damn tavern already to get this over with.”

“I…. yeah that’s fair.”

It turned out we had been really close to the end, as it didn’t take more than five minutes to get away from that cursed pass, and I felt so relieved once we left it behind. The guy took me to the entrance of the tavern without uttering a single word. I had never felt so thrilled to see the black-bat sign hanging from a pole besides the double doors.

The moment he pulled to a stop I hopped out of the cart, acting as if a whole infestation of rats had just invaded it. I was planning to get to the door and forget about what–ever–the fuck all _that_ had been about, but the guy spoke up.

“Before you go could you at least, tell me your name?”

He said it so quietly, almost like a whisper but I was able to understand.

It dawned to me then how we hadn’t really exchanged names as, at the time, I hadn’t feel the need to. We were strangers who, coincidentally, had shared a common destination. Names had simply not been essential to know.

But after what we’d share tonight, I guessed I could indulge him this once.

“Jean” I finally said, slowly and without looking at him.

“I’m Marco…” he paused. I guessed he anticipated me to say something else after that. When I didn’t give him what he wanted, he continued.

“….well thanks for your company on this trip. Have a good night” and with only a shake of my head as a sad excuse of a goodbye, we parted our separated ways.

I didn’t look back, even when some part of me so desperately wanted to.

I burst thought the door of the bar, water dripped for every part of my body as I invited myself in. I was greeted by a chorus of welcomes and insults as I sat on an empty stool and ordered a shot of whiskey, I needed something strong after what I had experienced after all.

As I expected, a tan man with short black hair came strolling in seconds later and pulled me into a choke hold.

"Argh, fuck off Eren."

“Where have you been man? You were supposed to be here about half an hour ago! I was starting to think you were going to ditch us.”

“And I’m starting to think that would’ve been a great idea.”

That pesky remark got me into a fight with him, nothing too serious of course but it was enough to gather a crow around us. It came as a surprise to no one when Eren was declared victorious and I had to ask for two more drink to drown my wounded pride.

 As the night progress I was able to forget about the strange merchant, the music was good and the beer felt like heaven against my sore throat. I’d probably get sick by morning but really I couldn’t give a shit. Close to midnight the guys decided to sit on a table near the window. I was on my six shot when Connie, a small, bald man nudged my arm. His breath reeked of alcohol and he looked a little out of it to be honest.

“So spill, how did you make it here? Most roads got closed off because of the crazy weather.”

“Does it matter?”

“When you’re betting money it kind of does, help a friend win a dare yeah?” Eren, who had been sitting next to me quiet for the most part, took interest in what the man said.

“I’m actually curious about that too. Come on don’t force me to fight it out of ya,” the comment stole a few laugh from the guys around us.

 I chose to be blunt about it.

“I took the anguine pass.”

The laughter died down and a frigid silent took its place.

“Shit, are you serious?” Eren limited himself to say while the bald man went off to claim his well-deserved money, wearing a knowing grin on his ugly face. When the only reply he got was a huff, he shook his head in disbelief.

“Who did you even convince to do that? No one takes that pass and especially not at night.”

“Just some guy, he ever told me he was used to going through it.”

“Wow haven’t heard that sentence in ages.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well the guy who died in the accident, he liked to say things like that to the people of town, a lot” Reiner, the blond muscular giant who had been drinking his flask like crazy since the party had started, piped in.

“Yeah, it came back to bite him is the ass though.”

Honestly, death was the least topic that I wanted to talk about. I had never heard all the details concerning the story, only the basics, but I also couldn’t deny I was curious.  Blaming the alcohol for feeling bolder than usual, the question got out.

“What happened exactly?” Eren was the one to answer.

“Right you don’t really know the story. The kid, and I am calling him a kid but he was around your age, maybe a few years younger, was a foreigner who loved to travel a lot between villages. He usually liked to spend most of his time in our town oddly enough, used to say it was like a second home for him. To make all the deals in time he’d frequently use that tricky pass, in spite of all our warnings. As a result, we’d always make bets on wherever or not he’d come back alive next time…”

He laughed at the dark memory and the others joined him quietly.

“For a while he did okay hell, he even charmed others merchants to take the road as well. But then one night…”

He looked out the window, when the wild rain was hitting outside with force. I denoted a sad tone in his voice as he said the next words.

“The weather was terrible, nothing like we’d seen before but he was convinced he could do the trip and be back by morning. I never found out why he was so fixated on getting to that town on that specific day but anyway, the rain had made the ground unstable so of course, he was bond to have an accident. A villager found his mangled body under some rocks near the river along with his horse and rests of his cart —”

There was a feeling of dread filling up in the pit of my stomach that I did my best to ignore, for it couldn’t be what my mind was thinking.

“—He died while being out in a storm like this one.”

“Do you remember… his name?” It simply couldn’t be, there was no way.

“I think it was Marcel, no maybe Mark or –”

“Marco” My traitorous mouth provided weakly.

“Yes, that one.”

If what these madmen were saying was true, then it meant that I–

all this time I’d been travelling with the ghost of a man that was…

No just, _no._

Let me just say, I was never one to believe in ghosts and monsters, they were just simple fairy tales to keep kids in bed and out of trouble. Part of a town’s folklore but nothing more than that. Besides  as far as he knew ghosts were _supposed_ to be intangible beings, and there was no doubt in my mind that I had _felt_ his skin against my fingertips. It must have been a prank of some sort.

 But, as I was repeating this to reassure myself, new thoughts occupied my mind.

He had been extremely cold, almost impossibly so. Not living being could be so cold and still be healthy, at least none I knew about. He was so stiff and motionless too…had he even breath while we were riding? He laughed but had his chest moved with it? I… I didn’t know for sure. Not to mention the way he had behaved back then had been beyond normal and, and the fog……

 _[The spirits of the dead are usually followed by a white mist…. People that get trapped often experience vivid hallucinations, some say that this is the manifestation of the dead’s last living moments….]_ a phrase in an old book my father used to read to me as a kid.

How had I not seen the signs sooner?

 A ghost had taken me to this bar a ghost… that had tried to kill me.  Oh god, it had not been an accident at all, the way he acted. He’d been reenacting his own death, that’s why I couldn’t get through him because I was never there to begin with. If I hadn’t swerved the cart when I did, then–

Then. . .

my glass shattered to the floor as I moved my arms to wrap around my stomach.

 That cursed path would’ve gained another victim.

I felt sick, so sick I needed to get out of this place. I felt hands on my back as I was bending down and I looked up to find Eren watching me with concern.

“Are you okay? Jean, do you feel ill?”

“I’m... fine just... need some air is all.”

 Of course I knew Eren could see right through that lie like crystal but he had never been one to pry and for that, I was glad. I tried to apologize for the broken glass but he waved me off and said he’d pay for the mess. Putting up an act of merely being dizzy I got out of the tavern, heading straight to the stables on the other side of it.

They were a safe haven for me. I grew up in farm, my dad was a horse breeder and trainer so I used to spend most of my time in the stables with him, taking care of the animals.

The downpour had finally eased a little, just enough to be given the status of “ _annoying_ ” instead of “ _deathly_ ”. The horses were sleeping peacefully. Some spun their heads to see me when I came into view but put little effort in making another move, the lazy beasts. I kept what little of my composure was left for another minute or so, then I lost it.

I paced back and forth between the fence and the stables, hands gripping tuffs of hair and breathe coming in short gasps.

I needed to calm down; having a nervous crisis would not help me in any way. I made my brain come up with whatever excuse I could think of. I gripped the planks of the fence forcefully.

Fine, fine _maybe_ that thing was a ghost, a—a fairytale monster but it didn’t matter. He was gone now so there was nothing left to do, only go back to get drunk with friends and have the worst hangover in the morning. That had always been the original plan and it would continue to be. So what? A supposed spirit had taken me here and now he or it, or _whatever_ was gone, far away from this place.

My hands eased their strong grip.

_‘That’s right, you don’t know where he went so there nothing you can do about it. So go back to the party and enjoy the night’._

 With that in mind I turned around, intended to go back to the bar again and forget the encounter had ever happened. There was nothing to fear, he was not here anymore.

“ _Jean_.”

And right then and there, for the second time in the same night, my body froze against my will. The voice came from behind me. It sounded soft, pleading almost but I didn’t dare to turn my head.

I couldn’t.

“Shut up, you’re not real.”

“If I’m not real then, what am I?”

“I don’t know a fragment of my own twisted imagination or–or maybe the alcohol finally taking its toll on me? Whatever you are, it’s not meant to exist because you are **_dead_**!”

I closed my eyes after saying those words, praying that when I opened them again nothing would be out there waiting for me. I wasn’t exactly drunk yet but maybe I could blame this on being a little tipsy and move on with my life.

“I’m guessing the gentleman inside told you about me?”

I didn’t move and the voice didn’t make itself known again for a while but that did little to ease the tension in my muscles. I could _feel_ the fog around me, encasing me like a snake.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what exactly, are you apologizing for?” For trying to kill me or for not managing to do so, both could be a fair answer. He didn’t respond and, after more silence, I considered making a run for the front doors.

“You know, I don’t really remember where I come from or If I ever had a sister or family at all —”

The words had been so random, so out of nowhere that they managed to make me spin around. He was indeed there standing close to the old water well, surrounded by the mist that seemed to take the form of a dome over the scenery. Phillips was calmingly situated next to his owner, pressing his muzzle into his chest in a tender gesture. Marco’s hands were stroking the animal’s nose with care but his attention was set directly on me.

Even though the two spirits were within good distance, I took a step back. The ghost’s eyes shifted into a miserable expression before continuing on with his tale.

“My name and my companion are the only things I’ve left from my…home. Forgive me, it feels weird to say that word now. For so many years all I’ve fully known is that infamous pass. For so many years on stormy nights I’ve travelled through it, _never_ being able to complete my journey—”

Lighting danced around the clouds in the middle of his sentence, casting a sudden brightness over us. That was not what made my heart stop his rhythmic beat. The shapes before me, they had changed. Marco’s skin looked unhealthy pale and sick, almost as if it was rotting away from his bones by chunks. Rivers of blood were trailing down his arms, all over his clothes and his head. A gasp left my mouth when my gaze reached it. There was a deep dent in his skull, the killing blow for sure, and one of his eyes was missing, leaving a black void where it once had been.

The horse, oh Gods, somehow he was worst. Wooden sticks and splinters embed in his neck, his abdomen, just _everywhere_. His neck looked broken and deformed, bone sticking out of its back. Gone were the silly braids, ripped away from his hair that was coming down in tuffs. The eyes were complete white sockets, as if no soul resided inside this mangled vessel anymore.

 I felt my body preparing to puke again but I swallowed the nauseous feeling down. I didn’t have the will to move my eyes, or my face, away from them. The only thing that was making me feel a little better was the fence between me and those two entities. It wouldn’t do any good I knew, but I need to hold on to _something._ If only for my peace of mind.

 The ghost of the man pinned me with his only eye on my spot and made sure I was watching them, before he spoke again.

“…this very night, it was supposed to be the same.”

 I only wanted to run away, hearing the implication of those words, but once again my legs seemed to be nailed to the earth below.

“Then _why_ did you take upon my offer if you knew this was going to happen?!” There had been no mistake then, he’d deliberately tried to leap off the cliff with me still in the cart, and he’d almost _succeeded_.

“I’m, I didn’t want to be alone anymore.”

“You were trying to get me _killed_!” Un-fucking-believable. This thing had put my very own life at risk just because he felt lonely? To what, throw another ghostly friend into the mess?

“Don’t think of it that way, please. It was never my choice to be cursed this way, having to re-play my death over and over again, with not a way to find eternal rest. No matter how much I wished and tried we’d always share the same fate. With time, I started thinking It’s all I’d ever be, a myth... a damned soul stuck in his own hellish limbo—” The wind picked up around us, blew the stable’s doors and dead leaves before settling again.

“—But... but this time, for the first time since the day I died, something changed….”

“What are you talking abou –”

“ _You_ ” he said it so curtly, his grave voice sounding so serious that I became afraid of even uttering another word. Me? What the hell did he want with _me_ specifically? The ghost shook his head at my confusion before clarifying what he meant.

“It was you who made the difference. By taking control over the reins and not allowing me to face my death once again you broke the cycle and by doing that, you helped me reach the end of the passage.”

He watched me with such intensity in his gaze. I wasn’t strong enough to hold it and blinked. Blinked and held them shut for a minute, waiting for something to happen. My eyes opened and there was no longer blood and no twisted limbs just, this masked liveliness.

As I stood there frozen, close to the essence of what had once been a living person I became aware that the clouds in the sky had run out of water some time ago but, the eyes of the ghost before me still had an ocean inside of them.

“…. _thank_ _you_ ”

The translucent tears never touched the ground, evaporating in the air before they could even leave his cheeks. An arm moved to get rid of them while a smile formed on his thin lips. The horse shook his head in my direction, giving out a loud neigh that caused me to flinch away.

“Phillips shows his gratitude too.”

“S-so what are you going to do now?” The nervousness I had felt until that point released itself into that question. It didn’t look like the ghost had any intention of harming me but I needed to be assured.

“What indeed.”

A strong gust of wind blew through my body causing me stumble and the fog became heavier, so dense. It wrapped around me like a blanket and I lost sight of the spirits, but their voice kept on going. 

“Guess we’ll have to wait and see. Don’t you think?”

I grew scared, so afraid for my life but no scream came from my mouth, for my voice was struck in my throat. I felt my body shift, in which direction I wasn’t sure anymore. My feet were no longer on the ground. Disoriented and terrified, I thought of the worse outcomes.

 They were going to take my soul away from me.

They would turn me into one of them.

They would–

“ _HEY_!”

I jumped up in surprise when that voice cut me out of my trace and made me set my eyes on its owner. Eren was walking up to me, trying to get my attention. The fog had disappeared along with the breeze. My vision started to clear slowly and with a jolt I found myself at the entrance of the stables again, not remembering when or how I had gotten back there.

I kept facing him the whole time as he got closer, even once he stopped next to me.

“You certainly took your time out here. How are you feeling?”

“I’m... better?” I responded dumbly, it made the short man laugh.

“You know you might get the house after this, just for being such a stupid little shit. Now how about we get a few more drinks into you?”

He clasped a big hand onto my shoulder and shoved me towards the bar. Against my better judgment my head tilted around to look behind my back. Where I expected to see black eyes watching from afar, only the lone water well stood there to meet me.

 “Yeah, that sounds really good.”

When I turned my head to see what was in front of me again a whisper murmured his way into my ear, one I swear uttered a single word to me.

‘ _Farewell.’_

_…….. . . ._

I never saw him again after that night.

 In the end I did move to Eren’s old house away from town. No other weird occurrences have happened to me ever since and I mostly kept things to myself.

Because of the distance I don’t frequent the road where I first met the spirit as much as I did back then and I never go out when a storm is ragging outside now. Call it paranoia or whatever you want. You must be thinking a hypocrite of me now.

Even if the guys at the bar told me I probably imagined the whole thing when I drunkenly slipped the events by the stables, nothing will be able to convince me that what I saw wasn’t real.

It is unknown to me if the ghost ever found eternal rest or he’s still stuck in the same death loop, though, one thing I know for sure—

I’ll stay as far away from that winding path as I can from now on, just in case.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for taking the time to read this silly little thing.


End file.
